Spring justice of peace admonished by state panel over remarks

Updated 10:16 pm, Monday, April 9, 2012

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Judge J. Kent Adams Judge Adams was appointed by Harris County Commissioners Court on March 1, 2001 as the presiding judge of Harris County Justice of the Peace Court, Precinct Four, Position One. Elected to the Justice of the Peace Court, Precinct Four, Position One to complete an un-expired term ending December 31, 2004. He was re-elected for a four-year term in March 2004, and Judge Adams was re-elected without opposition in 2008.

Judge J. Kent Adams Judge Adams was appointed by Harris County Commissioners Court on March 1, 2001 as the presiding judge of Harris County Justice of the Peace Court, Precinct Four, Position One. Elected to

J. Kent Adams, a Harris County justice of the peace in Spring, has been admonished for inappropriate comments made from the bench and to lawyers in his chambers, including a 2011 incident in which he asked a black mother "if she was on welfare and expected the government to pay her fine."

According to the public condemnation by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Adams also asked a Hispanic parent, "if she had six or seven kids," and told a Pakistani parent her son should be "stoned to death."

An admonishment is the lowest form of public punishment the commission can levy. The commission can offer reprimands and censures, and suspend judges in some cases.

Adams has been the Precinct 4 Place 1 justice of the peace since 2001 and faces a challenger in next month's Republican primary.

He declined to comment on specifics Monday, citing the confidentiality of the proceedings, but released a statement.

"Since taking the bench, I have always striven to discharge my oath of office, and to carry out my duties as Justice of the Peace, with a clear focus on the law, and to pay close attention to making sure all who appear before my court are treated fairly and consistent with the law," Adams said in a prepared statement.

It is unclear whether he is appealing the admonition, which was handed down April 3.

In his response to the commission's investigation, Adams did not deny what he said to the parents but argued that his comments should be viewed in context.

"According to the judge, the inquiry of the African-American parent was to determine if she was indigent, and the question posed to the Hispanic parent was to determine if she qualified for special services at (the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County)," read the admonition.

Adams also said he knew the Pakistani parents were considering sending their son to live with an uncle in the Middle East and wanted to remind the boy that he is fortunate to live in the United States where being stoned to death is not a legal form of punishment.

Lawyer complained

The document was released Monday by attorney Henry Nguyen, who complained to the commission that the judge in a 2010 meeting in his quarters called him "boy" and told him the school records he subpoenaed to defend his client were "none of his (expletive) business."

The judge also was admonished for what he said to Nguyen, who said he had hoped the judge would be punished more harshly.

"It's just offensive," Nguyen said. "To have someone in that position who continues to do these things is sad."

The letter admonishing the judge alleges that he tried unsuccessfully to persuade a prosecutor to sign an affidavit saying Nguyen's claims were false. He also tried to have perjury charges filed against the defense lawyer.

"It was pretty offensive to me that he tried to get a prosecutor to lie and sign an affidavit and push another prosecutor to try to get me indicted after I told the truth," Nguyen said.

Panel works in secret

James Alfini, dean emeritus at South Texas College of Law and an expert on judicial ethics did not know about the admonishment but said the allegations are disconcerting.

"On the face of it, that sounds pretty egregious," Alfini said, "But, perhaps, the commission found some mitigating circumstances."

He said the commission, which does almost all of its work in secret, has a good reputation for doling out sanctions that meet the situation.

"I would imagine they took this very seriously," he said. "I don't know all the circumstances, but there must have been some mitigating factors and some good explanations that the commission considered."